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Coins, Currency, and Medals

The Museum possesses one of the largest numismatic collections in the world. The collections include over 1 million objects, comprising coins, medals, decorations, and pieces of paper money. Among the many great rarities here are some of the world’s oldest coins, created 2,700 years ago. But the collection also includes the latest innovations in electronic monetary exchange, as well as beads, wampum, and other commodities once used as money. A special strength lies in artifacts that illustrate the development of money and medals in the United States. The American section includes many rare and significant coins, such as two of three known examples of the world's most valuable coin, the 1933 double eagle $20 gold piece.

Produced at George Wyon's private mint, Birmingham, England. Obverse: Seated figure of Columbia with scales of justice and a Liberty cap, date below. Reverse: All-seeing Eye in a glory with stars, CONSTELLATIO NOVA around. This pattern accompanied a proposed contract coinage to be made in England and shipped to America. This version never went any farther, perhaps in part because the obverse die for this pattern contained a major blunder: the first word should have been IMMUNIS, not IMMUNE. A few pieces were struck in copper, and this one (using an English guinea as a blank) in gold. Such contract proposals continued through the early 1790s, but they never bore fruit. Congress concluded that it was simply too dangerous to entrust producing America's money to a foreign source.

Produced at a private mint, either in New York City or Rahway Mills, New Jersey. Obverse: Portrait of New York Governor George Clinton. Reverse: Arms of New York state, date below. Struck for the same purposes as the Indian/New York arms copper, the Clinton variety had no greater success. Eight to ten specimens including this one are known.

Produced at a private mint, either in New York City or Rahway Mills, New Jersey. Obverse: Standing Indian with bow and tomahawk. Reverse: Arms of New York State, date below. In common with several other states (who enjoyed the power to coin or circulate money under the Articles of Confederation, then still in force) New York mulled over the idea of a contract coinage. One of the prominent players was James F. Atlee, who created this pattern for his friend Thomas Machin. The latter was in hot pursuit of a contract to strike copper coinage for the state of New York. Machin did not receive the contract. However, he and his friend Atlee soon established a clandestine coining operation near Newburgh, New York. A dozen or so patterns are all that remain from the original idea.

Produced by Ephraim Brasher in New York City. Obverse: Sun rising over mountains; BRASHER below. Reverse: Crude eagle within continuous wreath; EB countermark on eagle's wing. Its existence apparently unknown until the beginning of the twentieth century, this unique coin was struck with the same pair of dies used to create the Brasher Doubloon.

Ephraim Brasher was a goldsmith, and his EB countermark also appeared on foreign gold coins of the day. It proclaimed that he had tested or assayed them and stood behind them.

The Northern Bank of Kentucky in Lexington issued this one dollar bank note on May 3, 1856. The note was printed by Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Company of Philadelphia, which was well known for printing both currency and stamps during the 1850s. The center of the note depicts a pastoral scene with an allegorical image of Progress holding the bank’s charter, with Lexington’s railroad and skyline in the background. Two portraits of unknown persons are at the upper left and right of the note, with a portrait of George Washington at the lower right. The note is signed by the bank’s cashier, A. F. Hawkins, and its president, M. T. Scott. Notes that had been printed were not considered valid until the note was signed.

From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and several are held in the National Numismatic Collection.

Bald, Adams & Company of New York printed this 100 dollar proof for the Quassaick Bank of Newburgh, New York, around 1854. The Quassaick Bank was formally adopted on March 31, 1852, taking the aboriginal name of the town of Newburgh. The center of the note has an image of Native Americans pointing toward an industrialized Newburgh. The left side has an image of a man and a boy holding rifles, hiking up a mountain. The punches on the signature lines for the bank’s cashier and president made it unusable. This note is a proof done by Bald, Adams & Company, printed to confirm that the design was suitable for mass printing.

From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and several are held in the National Numismatic Collection.

Die-cut badge from a sheet of celluloid. A star rests atop a circular piece, and is engraved with an image of Christopher Columbus. The celluloid piece is stapled to a red, white, and blue silk ribbon that can be pinned to one's clothing.

Souvenir from the Norwich, Conn. celebration on October 21st 1892 of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America.

This 300 dollar check was made out to A. H. Nichols from the Steuben County Bank of Bath, New York, on January 13, 1844. The check is number 140 in the series, and reads “For Magee and Cook,” for the bank’s president, John Magee, and its cashier, Constant Cook. The Steuben County Bank was chartered for thirty years with a capital of 150,000 dollars on May 9, 1832. Magee was a congressional representative from 1827–1831, an appointment which spoke to his high standing in the community—necessary in a time when banks could go out of business in an instant and personal responsibility for a bank’s fortunes helped spur public confidence in the local bank.

The Real Estate Banking Company of Clinton in Hinds County, Mississippi, issued this five dollar bank note on January 25, 1839. The note was printed by the firm Draper, Toppan, Longacre & Company of Philadelphia, and features a central motif of two seated allegorical female figures. The left and right sides of the note are decorated with a cotton bush. Over the image of the figures, the text reads “On demand, five months after date.” The note is signed by the bank’s cashier, Joseph Davenport, and its president, Cowles Mead. The Real Estate Banking Company was one of the many banks that sprung up after the dissolution of the Second Bank of the United States, and like many of these banks it failed spectacularly within a few years. Cowles Mead served as a congressman from Georgia before becoming governor of the Mississippi Territory, where he was infamous for arresting Aaron Burr for treason after fleeing prosecution for killing Alexander Hamilton. When Mead’s bank failed, its cashier, Joseph Davenport, went to Philadelphia on the pretense of securing a loan to continue the bank’s operation, but never returned.

From 1790 to 1863, states and private banks issued their own currency to supply capital in a young nation without a national currency. This currency was backed by the hard money the banks had on deposit, and was only used locally where the bank and its operators were trusted in the community. However, banks often oversupplied notes, and this overextension caused bankruptcy among private and state banks when financial panic struck, particularly in 1837. Currencies from these failed banks are known as “obsolete bank notes” or “broken bank notes,” and several are held in the National Numismatics Collection.

Benjamin Pike Jr. (1809–1864), an instrument maker and dealer who had recently opened a shop at 294 Broadway, won this silver medal at the American Institute Fair held in New York City in 1844. The obverse is marked "Awarded to Benjamin Pike, Jr. For Superior Air Pumps. 1844." The reverse is marked "AMERICAN INSTITUTE, NEW YORK. R. LOVETT." Pike knew his market well. Americans at that time were establishing numerous schools and colleges and equipping them with instruments for scientific demonstrations. In his Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical Instruments (1848), designed to attract customers around the country, Pike offered seven different air pumps and many devices to use with them.